A Rutherglen man who considered a collision with a woman’s vehicle “karma” after wrongly accusing her of dumping rubbish along a Boralma road has been placed on a good behaviour bond. The 37-year-old appeared at Wangaratta Magistrates’ Court on Monday pleading guilty. The court heard on 9 August 2025 a Springhurst woman was removing rubbish bags along Railway Road near Boralma when the accused drove past in his Toyota Hilux towing a trailer. The accused stopped and confronted the woman, accusing her of dumping the rubbish she was trying to clean up along the road. He took a video on his phone and followed the victim driving away in her Kia Sorrento while calling Triple Zero. On the phone police told the man to stop following the woman, but he continued to do so for around 20 minutes. The victim stopped her Kia Sorrento at an intersection near the Hume Freeway when the accused drove past her and struck the driver’s side of the vehicle with his trailer. The impact caused nearly $14,000 worth of damage to the Kia. The victim followed the accused, who failed to stop, and took footage of the utility. She called a friend to pick her up on the freeway before being taken to hospital for observation and reporting the incident to police. When confronted by police, the accused initially denied causing any damage to the victim’s vehicle. He would later admit his fault in a police interview at Rutherglen police station, saying he didn’t see his trailer hit the car, but heard a “big bang” and assumed he had hit the vehicle. He said he considered the collision “karma” for the woman dumping rubbish. “Your client jumped to an incorrect conclusion,” Magistrate Peter Dunn said to defence counsel Chirag Patel. “We’re all appalled when we see the amount of 'fly-tipping' on the road, but just because someone is there doesn’t mean they are the perpetrator.” Magistrate Dunn placed the man on a 12-month good behaviour bond and ordered he make a $500 donation to the court fund. “You just got a head of steam up sir when you should’ve made an appropriate enquiry,” he said. “Think before you act.”
